When you are lifting or moving a lot muscles in your back can end up aching. There are many massage techniques that can help. Both gentle pressure and deep tissue strokes may be useful to you.

Massage Can Help to Reduce Backache & Muscle Stiffness

Upper backache is a common problem among men and women alike. If you start doing alot of physical movement like lifting, it can be really uncomfortable for you afterwards. Back massage can help you with backache and painful, stiff muscles.

Causes of Backache and Stiff Muscles

Your back muscles are in near constant motion which means they can get stiff and need time to recover. These aches and pains can make life literally, uncomfortable. Massage can help relieve stiffness in the back and shoulders too. When you are doing manual tasks like lifting, your back muscles can become uncomfortable through constant effort, or bad lifting technique, or because they get strained. This is especially the case if you are doing things that you don’t usually do.

Back Massage Techniques That Can Help Stiffness

To start with in back massage covering the area in oil is done with soothing effleurage strokes. This warms up the tissues, relaxes them and gets them ready for more. These will gently run from the base of the spine up either side of it. Next hands circle around the shoulders and shoulder blades to cover them in oil. Next hands move down the spine but, on a slightly different line to before, further away from the spine. This is so oil is spread more widely.

Next further effleurage is done with the addition of some other gentle strokes. All the way up the spine then circle over the scapula in both directions. Then down slightly to pull from outside to inside across the latissimus dorsi. Next follow either side of the spine down lower and you can choose to pull up either side of the stomach. Lastly down further and pull either side over the glutes.

Both Light Pressure & Deep Tissue Strokes Can Help

Deeper pressure is applied on one side of the back at a time. Up first, staying away from the spine but, either side of it safely. Then two-handed strokes around the shoulder blade. Circles can be made in both directions. Next we run a full back effleurage and pulling. 

Next two-handed pulling strokes with deeper pressure can now be applied to the latissimus dorsi. Full effleurage and pulls follow again.

Safely Up and Down the Spine

Now we can gently and safely pull the muscles tissues away from the spine with alternate hands. Slowly moving up the spine this will aid relaxation and warm the tissues up as well. Next if required deep tissue pressure can be applied up and down the spine muscles. To stay safe doing this, I use one hand as a guide to make sure i am far enough away from the spine itself. Then a fist is slowly safely pushed up. Next, after I turn around using my hands the other way around, I move back down.

Change Sides With a Nice Stroke Then Repeat

To change from one side to the other I first do a full effleurage and pull up and down. Then move my hands back up to the shoulder blades. As I move around the top of the table, my hands cross each other from one side of the shoulder blades to the other, making sure pressure when moving over the spine itself is minimal. This routine is then repeated on the other side of the back.